International journal of obstetric anesthesia
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Int J Obstet Anesth · Oct 2004
Compliance with the CONSORT checklist in obstetric anaesthesia randomised controlled trials.
The Consolidated Standards for Reporting of Trials (CONSORT) checklist is an evidence-based approach to help improve the quality of reporting randomised controlled trials. The purpose of this study was to determine how closely randomised controlled trials in obstetric anaesthesia adhere to the CONSORT checklist. We retrieved all randomised controlled trials pertaining to the practice of obstetric anaesthesia and summarised in Obstetric Anesthesia Digest between March 2001 and December 2002 and compared the quality of reporting to the CONSORT checklist. ⋯ Information pertaining to randomisation, blinding of the assessors, sample size calculation, reliability of measurements and reporting of the analysis were often omitted. It is difficult to determine the value and quality of many obstetric anaesthesia clinical trials because journal editors do not insist that this important information is made available to readers. Both clinicians and clinical researchers would benefit from uniform reporting of randomised trials in a manner that allows rapid data retrieval and easy assessment for relevance and quality.
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Int J Obstet Anesth · Jul 2004
Comparative StudyA comparison of cold, pinprick and touch for assessing the level of spinal block at caesarean section.
The sensory block levels of 102 women undergoing caesarean section under spinal anaesthesia were assessed by four different methods: sharp pinprick (Neurotip tester pin), cold (ethyl chloride spray), touch (Neurotip tester pin), touch (ethyl chloride spray). While the data indicate a median difference of some 2 segments between the levels of block assessed by sharp pinprick or cold, and touch, there was no constant relationship between these levels of block within the group nor within individual patients: variable and at times very large differences in the levels of block assessed among these modalities existed: up to 10 segments (pinprick - touch); 11 segments (cold - touch). ⋯ The results suggest that, for clinical purposes, there is no difference in outcomes whether Neurotip touch or ethyl chloride spray touch sensations are used. When using diamorphine 100 micrograms/mL mixed with bupivacaine 0.5% w/v in 8% dextrose, no patient felt any pain or discomfort provided the block to Neurotip or ethyl chloride touch sensations included T6 or above.